Joliet Central student to portray St. Lucia on Sunday

A Joliet Central High School student will portray “The Queen of Light” at a Swedish faith celebration Sunday that ushers in the Christmas holiday.

The traditional Lucia Fest will be at 11:45 a.m. at Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant, 2437 Plainfield Road in Joliet, according to a news release from the Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant.

The fest will immediately follow the 10:45 a.m. worship service.

The Lucia Fest “recognizes the return of light after the dark of winter and heralds the approaching Christmas season with candlelight and music,” according to the release.

“It’s our highest-attended service of the whole year,” lead Pastor Jake Bradley said. “It’s a great way to meet people in the community and honor those long-held traditions.”

We are a church of immigrants. For the people in our community, if they want to feel safe and see themselves as part of the immigrant community, this is how we celebrate our heritage and make a safe place for people of all immigrant heritages.”

—  Jake Bradley, lead pastor, Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant

Ruby Barraza, 17, a junior at Joliet Central High School and a participant in her school’s ROTC program, will wear a crown of candles on her head as part of her portrayal, according to the release.

Santa Lucia is considered a “symbol of light, faith and Christian charity,” according to the release.

Barraza will invite those present to a fika, “a time of fellowship, coffee and Swedish pastries,” sponsored by the church’s Women Ministries, according to the release. Her attendants will be children from the church’s Sunday school.

Bradley stressed that the event is not simply for people of Swedish heritage. Rather, the event honors the Swedish immigrants who founded the church.

“We are a church of immigrants,” Bradley said. “For the people in our community, if they want to feel safe and see themselves as part of the immigrant community, this is how we celebrate our heritage and make a safe place for people of all immigrant heritages.”

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Sarah Lender-Hawkins, music director at Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant, will sing the traditional Lucia song, Bradley said.

Cyan Bradley, last year’s Santa Lucia, will read the traditional story of Lucia, according to the release.

Cyan Bradley is Jake Bradley’s daughter.

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“It’s very beautiful – lots of pomp and circumstance,” Bradley said. “There’s the queen with the candles that are lit on her head and all the star girls. We sing a traditional hymn, sung by a Swede. Then, we end with fika, a traditional Swedish treat, and coffee. It’s just a time of connection and fellowship.”

St. Lucy, or Santa Lucia, was an early Christian saint martyred in the fourth century. Her feast day is celebrated Dec. 13. According to the Julian calendar (the current Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian in 1582), Dec. 13 was the shortest day of the year.

According to tradition, St. Lucy wore a wreath of candles to light her way when bringing food to Christians in hiding. She was to marry a rich nobleman at age 17, but she gave her dowery to the poor instead. The nobleman suspected that she was a Christian and had her killed.

St. Lucy returned hundreds of years later in December during a time of famine and fed the poor, according to tradition.

Barraza regularly attends Sunday school at the Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant. She participates in the church’s high school youth group and other church activities. She plans to study culinary arts at Joliet Junior College after graduating from high school.

She is the daughter of Irma Rivera and Juan Manuel Holguin Barraza.

For information, visit goodshepherdcov.org.